Chicken Strips Bento

Now that I have to cook seven days a week instead of two, I find that I’m not wasting nearly as much food as I used to, which is quite strange. I had been dreading this nightly task of dinner-making because we had been going to Grandma J’s house for dinner for like six years, but I was quite pleased to find that I enjoy it quite a bit.

We finally have a table to sit and eat at (in the kitchen) and thanks to the dishwasher, I don’t have to stare at the sink full of dishes and fight the urge to run screaming from the house.

Here’s a quick bento I made for Baby Girl to take to school on “Kalua Pig and Spinach” day. It’s got leftover chicken strips ala Pioneer Woman, ranch dressing in a cup, a cutie, and some green grapes.

This dish was a pretty big hit with the kids, with them snatching up piece after piece and eating it. I didn’t have anything to make a bbq sauce, so I threw together ketchup, Worchestershire sauce, onion salt, and honey and managed to conjure up a pretty decent honey BBQ sauce.

I totally had to share this. Last weekend, we went to Grandma J’s house and she had this freaking huge and gorgeous pot of herbs. I went inside to ask her where she got it and she said it was for me!! Woohoo!! My niece had won it at a party (it was a centerpiece) and given it to Grandma, who then gave it to me. They generally don’t cook with herbs and she’s scared of her deathly touch with plants.

It’s got a big honking bush of basil, some parsley (I’ll never have to rot a bunch from the market again!), variegated sage, rosemary, and thyme. It smells amazing and I keep it in the kitchen near the windows for full sun. And look at the pretty basil flowers! Love!

Halloween is coming up fast, so while I’m still trying to get back into the bento groove, I’ve got some spooky bento ideas creeping and crawling into my head!